Define entry criteria for adding items to an inventory

Overview

An inventory without defined entry criteria grows without discipline. Items are added based on individual judgment rather than consistent standards. Some items that belong are missing. Other items that do not meet the definition of the inventory type are included. The inventory’s scope drifts from its intended definition, making it harder to use, harder to maintain, and harder to connect reliably to other inventories.

Best Practice

Define explicit, documented entry criteria for every enterprise inventory that specify what qualifies an item for inclusion. Entry criteria should address at minimum: the definition of the item type the inventory tracks; the minimum attributes an item must have before it can be added; the authority required to add a new item; and the process for challenging or removing items that do not meet the criteria. Validate entry criteria compliance at the point of data entry where technically feasible.

Benefit(s)

Well-defined entry criteria keep inventories focused on their intended purpose. Items that belong are consistently included. Items that do not belong are consistently excluded. The inventory remains a reliable representation of its defined scope rather than drifting into an unmanageable collection of everything that seemed loosely related at the time of entry. The Enterprise Model is more coherent and more trustworthy when the inventories that compose it have disciplined, consistently applied entry criteria.